U.S. gymnastics star Simone Biles withdrew from multiple events at Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 after experiencing a mental block known as “the twisties” – a disorienting condition that affects a gymnast’s spatial awareness mid-skill.
Five years later, the 29-year-old says the moment changed everything.
“It got me the therapy that I deserved, and I’m still currently in therapy,” Biles told CNN Sports at the Laureus World Sports Awards in Madrid. “Gymnasts aren’t viewed as people who have weaknesses, and that was the first time that weakness was displayed on a global stage like that. Now, I look at it as being courageous and not so much a weakness.”
The most decorated gymnast of all time attended the recent Winter Olympics in Milano and met with figure skater Ilia Malinin after his difficult free skate in the men’s individual competition.
She was also in touch with alpine skiing great Lindsey Vonn following her crash in the women’s downhill.
Biles credited tennis star Naomi Osaka and NBA player Kevin Love as athletes who helped her feel less alone in speaking publicly about mental health.
“I wish that more athletes would have spoken about what they were going through whenever I was currently competing,” she said. “There was Naomi Osaka, Kevin Love, but there were very few in between that would speak about mental health and what they were going through. Those were my guides.”
The conversation has grown since.
“Now hearing these athletes mention my name, it’s like, ‘Wow, we’re making progress, we’re making change, we’re being a voice and leader,’” she said. “So it means the world to me.”